Blog: January 2016

At this year’s holiday party, we all decided to bring a homemade dish that was important to us—something that was a part of our own holiday traditions. Having an array of such special, heartfelt dishes made for a very warm and cheerful meal. One of the dishes that received a noticeable amount of kudos was Mick's famous ribs: the Mick-Ribs.

Continue your celebration into the new year with this finger-licking recipe from our Texas office!

Recently I attended the BRS Annual holiday party in Denver, and brought my beloved MickRibs. A number of my coworkers asked for the recipe, so I wanted to share my MickRibs with all of you too!

I start with three racks of baby back ribs. I leave the membrane on the back of the ribs and take it off later.

I rub the ribs down with dry rub (see dry rub recipe) and place them in the refrigerator overnight sealed in plastic wrap. This allows the rub to do its work.

Next, I take the ribs out in the morning and allow the meat to reach room temperature.

Then, I start the fire in the smoker fire box at 11am and allow the fire to build in temperature and consistency of coals. I use pecan or hickory wood.
*Academy Sports is a great resource for smoking wood.

Sometime around noon, the fire should be ready. I am seeking a consistent temperature of 220 to 230 degrees fahrenheit. I place the ribs on the smoker rack, or on a special rib rack if you have some. Membrane side down on the rack if you use the regular smoker rack.

After two hours of smoke, take the ribs off the smoker and place them into a very large deep metal pan. A disposable deep aluminum pan works well for this.
Allow the ribs to cool down enough to the touch, then remove the membrane. It should come off fairly easy. Remove all the membrane on the bottom of the ribs and dispose of it.

Pour a dark beer, such as Milk Stout or Porter in the bottom of the pan and seal the pan with aluminum foil. If you choose, you can substitute beer for apple cider vinegar and water mixture. About 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to two cups water. Four cups of water and apple cider vinegar mixture poured into the pan should work.

Around 2:30pm, place the sealed ribs in the oven at 220 degrees for three hours.

When 5:30pm rolls around, pull the ribs out of the oven and place to the side.

Pour a small amount of the juice from the pan into a sauce pan. Add Stubbs Original BBQ sauce to the sauce pan to taste. This makes for a nice fresh BBQ sauce!

Place the ribs back into the oven for 30 to 40 mins un-wrapped to allow the outside of the ribs to cook just a bit. Option: put some of the Stubbs Original BBQ sauce on the ribs.

At about 6:15pm, pull the ribs from the oven and allow them to rest about 20 mins.

Sprinkle Tony Chachere’s (pronounced Saa-shaa-rees) all over the ribs to taste. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO FINISH THE RIBS WITH TONY’S

Place ribs on a serving platter and serve with BBQ Sauce (if desired), mashed potatoes or other starch such as macaroni and cheese!

Three of our Colorado projects have been recently photographed, and we would like to share them with you. Please take a look at Drive 2—an office building at TAXI in the River North Arts District of Denver, the Hudson Public Library and the Thornton Senior Center.

DRIVE 2 AT TAXI
Drive 2 is the second phase of a 100,000 square foot addition of office space to Zeppelin Development’s Taxi campus. The building added 56,000 square feet of commercial space to the site. While previous phases, including Freight, consisted of the conversion of existing buildings, the Drive buildings are new construction. Dynia Architects’ design intent needed to integrate Drive 2 with the gritty, industrial character of the site, match the energy of the existing successful buildings, and bring its own unique presence to the complex.

Drive 2 is a continuation of the language developed in the original Drive building, but includes its own features. The basic skin consists of black corrugated steel, punctured by garage door openings on all floors. The glass garages create a connection to the distant cityscape and mountains, as well as the adjacent river and rail lines, while providing ventilation when open. BRS served as architect of record and Dynia Architects was the design architect.

In 2013, the City of Thornton hired BRS to provide a facility needs assessment and conceptual design to determine potential renovations and improvements to the Thornton Senior Center. Improvements included a new entrance vestibule, more efficient circulation, a new reception desk/office area, and more modern finishes for many of the spaces. The renovation also incorporated an assisted hearing loop system in the multipurpose room, new lighting, new casework and new ceilings throughout.

HUDSON PUBLIC LIBRARY
In July 2013 the Town of Hudson began working with Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture to develop new Town Hall and Library building programs, conceptual building designs, and a site master plan on a six acre parcel of land on the east side of Beech Street.
The 11,000 square foot facility includes a Children’s, Teen and Adult collection as well as meeting rooms, offices, a help desk and a 1,000 square foot multipurpose room for both library and community meetings. Interior finishes and furniture follow a rustic railroad theme throughout. The Hudson Public Library opened its doors in April 2015.